Chasing the Dime: Booktrack Edition

By: Michael Connelly

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

The messages waiting for Henry Pierce when he plugs in his new telephone clearly aren't intended for him:
" Where is Lilly? This is her number. It's on the site."

Pierce has just been thrown out by his girlfriend and moved into a new apartment, and the company he founded is headed into the most critical phase of fund-raising. He's been "chasing the dime" - doing all it takes to come out first in a technological battle whose victor will make millions. But he can't get the messages for a woman named Lilly out of his head:
"Uh, yes, hello, my name is Frank. I'm at the Peninsula. Room six-twelve. So give me a call when you can."

Something is wrong. Pierce probes, investigates, and then tumbles through a hole, leaving behind a life driven by work to track down and help a woman he has never met.

The world he enters is one of escorts, Web sites, sex, and secret passions. The beautiful Lilly is an object of desire to thousands. To Pierce, she becomes the key that might fix a broken life. But in pursuing Lilly, Pierce has entered a landscape where his success and expertise mean nothing. He is a mark, an outsider, and soon he is also the victim of astonishing violence, the chief suspect in a murder case, and fighting for his life against forces he can barely discern.

©2002 Hieronymus, Inc., All Rights Reserved (P)2002 Time Warner AudioBooks, a Division of the AOL Time Warner Book Group

Critic reviews

"A grabber from the beginning...utterly compelling." (Booklist)
"It's the rare reader who will be able to finger the villain behind all the mayhem." (Publishers Weekly)
"Connelly takes what could have been a typical suspense thriller and turns it into something exceptional through nonstop action and surprising twists." (Library Journal)

Enjoyable listen...excellent story.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Great storyline. I found Connelly after Lincoln Lawyer movie and have gotten all his books going through them chronologically. This is a departure from the Bosch character and his half brother, however it is an absolutely great listen. Great character development.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No..during several car trips.

The best book ever!

I’m a big fan and read every book. I normally give 5 stars, but this one goes beyond exemplary. Highly recommend.

First Audible novel

Overall, I enjoyed the story. The book was referred to me by my nephew, and I was not disappointed. I am usually a "page-turner" and prefer the sound of the rustling pages, but was pleasantly surprised at how I moved through the book so well, and while I worked. Looking forward to my next selection.

Jonathan Davis Rocks

Chasing the Dime is classic Connelly. Lots of intricate details, multiple layers of intrigue.

However, Jonathan Davis’ performance makes the complexities work. His nuanced voices, rapid shifts in emotional context are a rare treat for us compulsive listeners!

One of Connelly’s best

Chasing the Dime keeps you wondering what’s going on. And wanting to know. Maybe the lead should have seen it all coming but maybe he is blinded by his drive for success.

I liked it

I’m always trying to think ahead on the “who done it” and this one I guessed wrong. I like that!

Started slow, but definitely worth the wait.

Some of the science/technical stuff was tedious, and a bit hard to follow, but really interesting. The narrator started off a little slow as well. But the story was actually really interesting and I wanted to hear what happened and where it was going. It kept me interested through to the end… I had questions at some point about why in the world people were so willing to leave fingerprints on things, but the author wrapped it up in a completely different way that was relevant and interesting through to the end.
Definitely a great book and well written and I’m glad I listened to this one!

A Chemist can’t stay out of trouble?

I like the way the book started off with the wrong number assigned to the chemist. BUT bc he’s a Chemist, I cannot believe he’d do things like leave his finger prints on everything, handle the victim’s perfume, lie to the police, not follow his lawyer’s advice, lie that he brought his gf Nicole into the lab, BRING Nicole into his sacred lab…. He’s too smart a guy to make these mistakes that totally contradict basic things he almost surely learned as he studied Chemistry. He’s smart enough to formed his own company the.man he’s smart enough to resist actions that would tear it down. Lastly, nearly getting killed would end all attempts to solve the mystery and would certainly give the police enough evidence to pursue the attempted murderers as the suspects. AND the lady had been reported missing by her Mother LONG before the Chemist revived this lady’s phone number.

A break from Bosch

For any Connelly fan, this book is a great break from Harry Bosch. Not a hard boiled detective book but a great thriller for anyone with a more than a few neurons flashing. It is a great listen and better than any James Patterson trash ever.

Connelly Strikes Out

I've read every other Michael Connelly book and loved them all. This one is the exception. The protagonist is such a moron I found myself yelling, "No! No!" when he was about to make one of his uncountable horrible decisions. The writing style is different than other Connelly books - almost like someone else wrote it, or he was trying to intentionally create a different style. The narrator doesn't help either - his tone makes most of the characters sound like hip, arrogant, self-absorbed jerks. What a disappointment. But don't let this review stop you from reading other Connelly books - they are VERY good.